Fifth-wheel



(No Model.)

W. H. BRADSHAW.

4 FIFTH WHEEL. No. 579,857. Patented Mar. 30, 1897' if 40 40 mmvron 45 qyg aw ITNE88E8: By W ATTORNEYS.

"m2 mums ws-rzns co, PHOTO-LYING wnsmxs'rou n. p

UNITED STATES ATENT Fries.

YVILLIAM H. BRADSHAW, OF ORANGE, NEW JERSEY.

F|FTH-W.HEEL.'

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 579,857, dated March 30, 1897.

Application filed December 29, 1896. $erial No. 617,341. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I,WILLIAM H. BRADSHAW, of Orange, in the county of Essex and State of New Jersey, have invented a new and Improved Fifth-Wheel, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

The object of the invention is to so construct a fifth-wheel for a vehicle that the friction will be reduced to a minimum and wherein the device will be simple, being constructed of but few parts, and also wherein the rollerbearings will operate freely, irrespective of the weight brought to bear upon them.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claim.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, in which similar characters of reference indicate corresponding parts in both figures.

Figure 1 is a plan view of the fifth-wheel, a part of the cover being broken away; and Fig. 2 is a transverse section taken substantially on the line 2 2 of Fig. l.

The device may be said to consist of three parts, namely, a track A, a cover B, and a traveling section 0. The track A is adapted to receive the cover B, which cover is practically inverted- U shaped in cross-section, as shown in Fig. 2. The traveling section C is located within the cover and above the track, being in engagement with the latter. The aforesaid traveling section consists of two side pieces 10, of circular shape, and spindles 11, which are journaled in the side sections, and upon each of the aforesaid spindles a roller 12 is mounted to loosely revolve. The rollers engage with the track A, and preferably at each side of the track an annular recess 13 is made, which will receive the vertical members of the cover 13, as illustratedin Fig. 2. 7

It is evident that as the cover member of the device moves around the track A the rollers 12 and the frame in which the rollers are journaled will travel in a like direction, and that no matter what weight may be brought to bear upon the upper or cover member B the traveling or roller member 0 will move freely on the track.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent A fifth-wheel having an annular track-plate the upper side edges of which are respectively provided with concentric grooves running around the track-plate at uniform distances from each other, a cover having an inverted- U shaped form, the lower edges of the sides of the cover respectively running in the grooves of thetrack-plate and the outer faces of the sides of the cover being in approximate alinement with the side edges of the track-plate, and an annular traveling section running circularly Within the cover and upon the trackplate, the traveling section consisting in two annular and concentric bands respectively adjacent to the inner faces of the sides of the cover, and the traveling section also consistin gin a series of rollers the trunnions of which are respectively journaled in the bands of the traveling section, the upper faces of the trackplate and the inner faces of the upper portion of the cover respectivelybearing on the lower and upper sides of the rollers so as to support the cover movably on the track-plate, substantially as described.

7 WILLIAM H. BRADSHAW. Witnesses:

J. F. ACKER,

F. W. HANAFORD. 

